PUTTING PRIVACY FIRST PUTS PEOPLE FIRST AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF ON THOSE CALLING FOR PRIVACY INFRINGEMENT

Hugh Scully, M.D., president of the Canadian Medical Association, The Toronto Star, December 10, 1999, TITLE: PATIENT PRIVACY MUST BE PROTECTED // acs-EE2001

Putting privacy first comes down to putting people first. It doesn't mean that privacy is absolute. What it does mean is that the burden of proof must rest with those whose purposes encroach upon the right of privacy. It means that we value patient privacy, at least enough to demand explicit justification of any proposal that would diminish it.